Chipping Paint
by HeatherSuoh
Summary: Non-Despair AU / When Fukawa and Togami's first anniversary approaches, Fukawa thinks Togami would find a nice picture of her to be an acceptable gift. To help create this gift, Fukawa enlists the help of the best photographer she knows: her ex-classmate from her days at Hope's Peak, Koizumi.
[Touko's POV]

* * *

You check the address six times before cautiously making your way down the cobblestone walkway that leads to the little pink house in the distance. It looks like a doll house, or maybe an illustration from a children's book. However, as you step forward you find that it was prettier from afar, and up close you can see imperfections like chipping paint and a boarded window. _I get it,_ you think. _My paint is chipping too. I've got one or two boarded windows. I'm a prettier picture from afar._

You suck in a deep breath and try to shake away your insecurities. If you're going to go through with this, you'll have to push forward at least a sliver of confidence, but your hands are still trembling when you jab your finger into the door buzzer. When it doesn't make a noise that you can hear you give it a second push. After a moment, a small round speaker on the opposite side of the doorframe emits a few staticy noises and you can hear movement from the other end. _Tch. What is this, someone's house or a drive thru window?_

"Who is it?" comes a cheerful voice through the speaker.

"F-Fukawa," you stutter back, unsure whether you should be speaking into the buzzer or the speaker. "Fukawa Touko. I'm here for the… ph-photoshoot…"

More movement, more static.

"It's open, come in!"

The voice belongs to Koizumi Mahiro, Hope's Peak's very own Ultimate Photographer.

You weren't friends with her when you attended Hope's Peak - in fact you don't think you'd ever spoken a word to her until last week when you made your appointment - but if you were going to do this, it needed to be with someone you felt you could trust, and you were treated fairly well at Hope's Peak, _especially_ by the underclassmen like Koizumi. Plus, considering she got into your school, you can only assume her to be good at what she does. You hazily remember her name in the bottom right corner of the photography pages in the yearbook, filled with photos of assemblies and sports games and cheer events.

Even with all of this in mind, as you reach forward and squeeze the door handle, you feel very nervous and consider turning and running home. Usually, you would never do something like this - meeting up with a near stranger in a place you've never been before - without Togami at your side to ensure your safety.

But this was one thing you couldn't tell Togami about.

It's nearly you and your darling's anniversary, which means that it's been an entire year since you first got together officially. You want his present to be something he'll truly deem acceptable for such an important day, and you mulled over ideas for weeks before you eventually landed at this.

There's nothing you could find in a store that Byakuya-sama would deem an acceptable present. He already has money, and if there were anything he wanted that money could buy, he would have bought it already. So the perfect gift for your white knight had to be something else…

And so you thought back to the gifts that Byakuya has given _you_ on holidays, such as the cute lingerie he bought you for your birthday, and that's when the idea struck you: what if you were to take some sexy pictures of yourself modeling the lingerie for him?

However, your own attempts at candids left something to be desired… They were all blurry and the ones that weren't were horribly unflattering. That's when you decided to try getting into contact with Koizumi.

You push the door forward and step into the threshold, which leads immediately into a narrow hallway. How… claustrophobic. And western.

"Uhhh... Koi-"

A bright red head of hair peaks in from an archway on the right. "Hey there Fukawa-san! I was just finishing setting everything up for our - Oh dear." Her cheerful tone suddenly falters and even her expression goes flat, which makes you recoil.

"Wh-What!? What's the problem?"

She snickers and brings one finger to her cheek. "Eheh… It's nothing really, just… That's not what you're going to be wearing for the _photoshoot,_ is it? You're at least going to do your hair or something, aren't you?"

Your eyes go wide and you stare down at your dark blue uniform and the skirt that goes down past your knees; your long braids that fall around your waist, the chipping paint and boarded windows.

"Um, I mean, I-I have something on under this, b-but…" You look up suddenly and point your index finger forward accusingly. "What's wrong with my hair, anyway?! A-Are you calling me ugly?"

Koizumi steps the rest of the way out from behind the door frame, donned in shades of olive green and orange, joining you in the hallway. She speaks to you in far too condescending a manor for someone who is both your underclassman and an inch shorter than you.

"Fukawa-san, come on now! I'm not calling you _ugly_ … It's just that you just look exactly like you did _every single day_ in highschool! Didn't you say this photo was for you and Togami-senpai's anniversary? Don't you want to straighten your hair? Maybe put on some makeup or something, look nice?"

You stare down at your feet again and trace the floor with one foot, nervous. "It's not like… I actually know how to do anything like that! So stop m-mocking me! This is a service I'm p-paying you for, you know!"

Koizumi giggles and takes your hand, leading you into another room. You all but shriek, trying to yank your hand back to no avail. "H-Hey! Don't t-touch me!"

"I can help you!" she insists. "Let me do your makeup!"

Before you can properly process what's happening, you're sitting on a small and uncomfortable chair in front of a big mirror, an array of beauty products spread in front of you.

"So, can I take your braids out?" Koizumi asks, getting ahead of herself. You chew on your lower lip.

"I don't know how I feel about this…"

She waves your words away with her hand like they were some dust in the air around her. "Jeez, I'm just trying to help you get the _perfect picture._ That's what you want for Togami-senpai, right? To give him something _perfect_ …"

You swallow and nod. "I do want to please my Byakuya-sama…" you pause. "…You think… he wants me to wear all of this?" You motion towards the spread of beauty products in front of you.

Koizumi rolls her eyes. "I'm not going to do anything _drastic,_ Fukawa-san, I promise! I'm not trying to make you look _different,_ I just want to make you look like… the best possible version of _you!_ Get what I'm saying?"

You raise your thumb to your mouth out of habit. "I'm not that…?"

She doesn't dignify that question with an answer, taking the end of one of your braids into her hand and sliding off the elastic that held it in place. She repeats this with the second braid and then runs a brush through your hair.

"Oh wow…"

You grimace. "What!? What is it!?"

You watch her reflection in the mirror as she cocks her head and grins. "I was going to straighten it, but actually, your braids left such a pretty wave in it! Your hair is very pretty, Fukawa-san!"

You blink a few times before a smile creeps onto your face. "You really th-think so?"

"Mhm! I'm not going to straighten it after all, just brush it out and use a little dry shampoo… Sound good?"

You nod, feeling slightly less insecure. Koizumi goes to work, first on your hair and then on your face, squawking at you when you don't pucker your lips right and cause her to make a dark line of lipstick across your face. You scold her again that she shouldn't yell at a paying customer, but she doesn't listen to you. Once she's had her way with you, she backs away and leaves you alone with your reflection.

"What do you think? Better, right?"

The girl in the mirror looks suspiciously like you. Koizumi has somehow strangled your hair into submission, because it doesn't look horribly greasy or frizzy, and instead just looks light and fluffy lying over your shoulders. Whatever that makeup stuff was, you don't understand the half of it, but it's got your skin looking smoother and clearer, and while you could do without the eyeliner or lipstick, you admit it makes you look… grown up.

You give a little, bean-shaped smile, which pleases her.

"See! Togami-senpai is going to be wondering how he landed such a totally hot chick, right? Or like, however guys talk."

"I-I don't think he would ever say anything like th-that," you mutter. Out of the bedroom and back towards the front of the house, you're taken to a big, empty room with a tripod, a white screen, and not much else. Upon closer inspection, the screen is actually a spool of fabric hung on a curtain rod, and it reaches all the way down to spread a few feet on the floor. Beside it is a couple of props, including a stool, some pillows and different throws, and a single rose in a vase.

"You don't actually have to use any of those," Koizumi explains as she sets her camera up on her small tripod. "I just grabbed a few things around the house that I thought might be useful. Go ahead and get ready. You said you had something on beneath that, right?"

Right. The lingerie Byakuya-sama bought you.

You swallow hard, staring down at your skirt, and then over to Koizumi, and then down at your skirt again. You slowly and timidly bring your fingers to the hem of it before tugging it down and letting the fabric pool around your feet. You remove your shirt just as slowly. Thankfully, Koizumi never looks up from her camera, as she's still working on setting it up and perfecting the settings.

You cast your clothes to the side and straighten the cups of your bra, an uncomfortable blush on your cheeks. You're nearly nude, wearing only a black sheer babydoll and the matching panties, and a white wrap around your left thigh to cover your scars.

You grab one of the pillows she had to the side of the screen and sit down with it in your lap, shifting uncomfortably. "U-Um, what should I… or how should I…"

Koizumi's eyes flitter up to you. "You can sit however's comfortable for -"

"D-Don't look at me!" you insist. "I-I'm not all dressed up like this f-for _you!_ This is for Byakuya-sama's eyes _only!"_

Her patience visibly wears. "I'm the photographer, I _have_ to look at -"

"Stop staring at me! I don't even w-want to _know_ the kind of lewd thoughts you're having right now! P-Pervert!" You hunch over and cover your breasts with your arms, trying to conceal yourself.

"I'm not having any _thoughts_ I have to look at you so I can _take your picture!"_

" _Close your eyes!"_

" _Jeeze!"_

She puts her hands over her eyes. If this were a cartoon, smoke would be swirling from the top of her head. You slowly unfurl from your hunched over position. A few beats of silence pass.

"H-How am I supposed to… p-pose…?"

"Agh. I don't know, Fukawa-san. This isn't the kind of thing I normally do! I only accepted it because I know you from school and I _wanted_ to help you out. Trust me, if my girlfriend knew I was doing this right now -"

" _G-Girlfriend?!_ So you _are_ into women, then! I-I knew you were looking at me l-lustfully! I can't believe I let you _look at me!"_

She lowers her head further into her hands and emits a long groan. _"AAAUUUGH!_ FUKAWA-SAN, YOU ARE _IMPOSSIBLE!"_

"You think I don't know that already!?"

"I did you a _favor_ by accepting this job in the first place, did you a _favor_ by making you look pretty, am _currently_ doing you a favor simply by not strangling you where you sit, and all you've done is _complain about it!"_

You wring your fingers in front of your chest. "I-I'm paying you for this, you kn-know.." you remind her for the third time.

Koizumi drags her fingers slowly down her face with a sigh, then claps her hands together before her chest. "Okay! New plan. Let's do something completely and totally different." She turns around so her back is to you and starts messing with her camera again.

"What do you m-mean…?"

"I mean we're going to go to the park. Put your clothes back on and meet me back in my room again. If nothing I have will fit you, then maybe something of Hiyoko's will…"

* * *

You could've teared up when you saw the pictures.

The sweater you wore was a dark chestnut brown that contrasted well with the shade of your hair, and the skirt was a soft grey. It looked like something you would wear, in theory, in another universe where you wear nicer things. Your hair and makeup still looked like that, too - the same way they would in a world where you were prettier.

There were lots of throwaway shots where you were frowning or pouting or arguing, but there were a few nice ones, where Koizumi was trying to make you laugh at her. And then there was _the_ one.

It was the expression you made right after Koizumi said "I think Togami-senpai is really going to love seeing you look happy and comfortable."

Really, you'd been neither happy _or_ comfortable, but in that picture you looked like you were. Behind you, hazy in the background, were trees and beautiful flowers, but they did not outshine you. The eye was drawn to you, not the backdrop - to you, happy and gentle and almost beautiful.

It wasn't sexy and seductive like you'd initially wanted. Even so, you still thought it would make an acceptable present for you and Byakuya-sama's anniversary. So you put it in a frame to give to him, and keep it hidden behind your back as you sway on the balls of your feet.

"H-Happy anniversary, Darling!"

You're home again; yourself again. Braids and all. It's the middle of the night, and he's just gotten home from work. He snickers at you before patting you gently on the head. "You shouldn't be awake right now."

You want to wrap your arms around him and hold for dear life, but your hands are occupied.

"I couldn't sleep! I-I just wanted to see you… A-And give you your gift…"

He gives the smallest of smiles; tired. The light in the front room is low and the moon can be seen through the window. He moves to take a seat on the couch and you follow him, almost bouncing with excitement.

"You have a gift for me?" he asks. You nod eagerly, and he reaches out with a kerchief and wipes your chin of drool, which makes you blush. He doesn't smile. His eyes are heavy with sleep and stress.

You reveal the frame from behind your back and pass it to him, your thumb making its way to it's spot between your teeth the second the gift leaves your hands. Byakuya reaches behind him to tug the chain on the lamp beside the couch, flooding a section of the room with light so he can see the photograph.

His tired eyes widen for a moment, his eyebrows raising in surprise. "…"

"I-I thought that… you could bring it to work with you or something! For your desk… Since we see so little of each other anymore…"

"I will," he says. He studies the picture for another moment then sets it to his side. "You look very different."

"Mhm!" you nod again, and remember Koizumi's words. "The b-best possible version of m-me!"

" _Tch."_ He makes a noise of disapproval and then he looks at you, _really_ looks at you. His eyes scan your scrawny legs, the wrap on your thigh,your bony hands, your long frayed braids, your bad skin. The chipping paint and boarded windows.

"You're already that," he says, and presses a kiss to your forehead.


End file.
